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Summary

Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), supporting Cristina Ojeda and Monica Alcota, a bi-national, married lesbian couple. Alcota, an Argentine immigrant, met Ojeda, a U.S. citizen, in 2008, and the two have been in a committed relationship for three years, marrying in Connecticut on August 27, 2010. As the spouse of a U.S. citizen, Alcota should be legally entitled to immigration protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied Alcota's right to immigration protection, citing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bans federal recognition of marriages between same-sex spouses. In the brief, Lambda Legal urges the BIA to close or postpone pending immigration cases involving same-sex couples until legal challenges over DOMA's constitutionality are settled.

History

December 2011 Victory! Immigration officials agreed to administratively close this case.

September 2010 Cristina Ojeda files a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) on behalf of Monica Alcota, seeking immigration protection for her spouse.

May 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denies the petition citing DOMA.

July 2011 Lambda Legal files amicus brief in support of Ojeda and Alcota.